Asia Cup Power Rankings, Volume 1: Defending champs on top

JAKARTA (Indonesia) - FIBA Asia Cup 2022 is here! Sixteen teams battling over one Asia Cup and the bragging rights over the next few years as the best team in Asia & Oceania. It really doesn't get any better than this.

Before we head into the heated competition in Jakarta, Indonesia which will be going on from 12-24 July, here's a quick look at how the teams stand in Volume 1 of the FIBA Asia Cup Power Rankings.

16	It's been a tough stretch for Syria heading into Asia Cup 2022. They had the chance to advance to the Second Round of the World Cup Qualifiers, but saw that slip away specifically in the loss to Bahrain. They'll have to dig deep into their fighting spirits to start Asia Cup 2022 with momentum.
15	Having Amritpal Singh at Asia Cup 2022 is a big boost for India that recently lost to the Philippines in the World Cup Qualifiers... but losing Vishesh Bhriguvanshi to an injury is a big blow as well. Will young guards Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon and Muin Bek Hafeez be able to step up?
14	Indonesia could have been heading into Asia Cup 2022 on a higher note, if only they were able to maintain their lead over Saudi Arabia until the end at the World Cup Qualifiers. However, they were without Marques Bolden for that game and that could be a huge factor in the rematch to tipoff their Asia Cup campaign. There's plenty of potential for Indonesia to be better, but they'll have to settle at this spot for now.
13	It's nearly impossible to properly gauge Chinese Taipei heading into Asia Cup 2022 based on recent performances. There are no players from the team that recently played in Window 3 of the World Cup Qualifiers that are playing in the Asia Cup. Based off of what we have seen from the players rostered, however, it could be an exciting one with the anticipation of seeing Lin Ting Chien, Chen Ying Chun, Will Artino, and Liu Cheng on the court at the same time.
12	Another World Cup Qualifiers window, another tough loss for Iran. After taking another loss to Kazakhstan, Iran have plenty of homework to do if they want to make it to another Asia Cup Final. With the core of Hamed Haddadi, Arsalan Kazemi, Mohammad Jamshidi, and Behnam Yakhchali, that's certainly still very possible, but they will have a lot of work to do.
11	Saudi Arabia claimed an important win against Indonesia at the World Cup Qualifiers, coming at the perfect time right before their opening clash at the Asia Cup. The game versus Indonesia to start things off should be the most important games for both teams in the Group Phase, so for Saudi Arabia to have the edge by getting the tough win is a big positive.
10	It was a weird two games for Kazakhstan in the World Cup Qualifiers. They beat Iran again in the first game of the window, but just as it seemed they would head into Asia Cup 2022 as prime contenders, they took a loss to Bahrain at home. The Steppen Wolves will also be playing in Jakarta without Anthony Clemmons and Nikolay Bazhin, definitely two big losses for the team.
9	It doesn't seem like many saw this coming. With their backs against the walls and threatened to be eliminated from World Cup qualification, Bahrain claimed not one, but two important wins. This should obviously be a huge confidence booster, as Bahrain will be going up against tough teams in Chinese Taipei, China, and Korea.
8	Getting a win against India before going to Asia Cup 2022 is nice, but it will still be tough to shake off the big loss to New Zealand, especially as they will face each other again in the Group Phase. Losing Dwight Ramos to an injury at the last second also doesn't help as he has clearly been one of their best players.
7	Getting a win against Chinese Taipei before going to Asia Cup 2022 is nice, but it will still be tough to shake off the big loss to Australia. Does that sound familiar? Still Japan are in slightly better shape as they will add a superstar like Yuta Watanabe to their Asia Cup squad, rather than losing a key piece. Still, it's a pretty young team for Japan and they'll have to adjust to the level of play in Asia Cup as fast as possible.
6	Jordan looked deflated in their loss to Lebanon in Lebanon, so they're taken down a peg here. Nonetheless, this team still has great potential with one of the best potential starting five in place. The Falcons have the potential to make a deep run, but they can't let that loss to Lebanon frustrate them out of rhythm.
5	Losing twice to the same opponent in a window is obviously not good, but considering the opponent they played (Australia) and how well they played (very well!), it's not tough to rate China highly heading into Asia Cup 2022. They will be missing some key talents like Guo Ailun in Indonesia, but have talented towers in Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin should be enough make any team feel comfortable heading into a big competition like this.
4	Korea have a really solid squad for Asia Cup 2022, highlighted by Ra GunA who will be a scoring and rebounding force. There much, much more to this Korea squad aside of Ra, however, especially Lee DaeSung and Choi JunYong. The trio have a close bond with each other which should positively effect their level of play. It will be the first Asia Cup for both Ra and Lee, while Choi has the most Asia Cup experience of the three despite being the youngest.
3	Even if you nitpick, there's not a lot of bad things you can say about the way New Zealand have been performing. The Tall Blacks will be missing some of their bigger stars for Asia Cup 2022, but there should be plenty of firepower for their Asia Cup campaign. Leading the charge is Tohi Smith-Milner who played in Asia Cup 2017 and it returning as a veteran for this relatively young squad.
2	What a difference a few games make. At the end of Window 2, Lebanon looked as if they were trending downwards after the loss to Jordan. Instead of hanging their heads, they went into Window 3 ad completely ripped Jordan apart in a revenge win. More than just the win, Lebanon put on display the performance of a cohesive unit that played with energy from start to finish. It wouldn't be surprising to expect a deep run from the Cedars.
1	If there were any doubts against Indonesia coming into Asia Cup 2022 as contenders ready to defend their title, they were silenced pretty quickly following their impressive fourth quarter against China. The Boomers held China to 3 points while scoring 26 of their own to take control of what had been a close game. There are changes in the roster for Asia Cup 2022, but it seems likely that the Boomers will be playing with the same energy in their quest to defend the throne.

*The power rankings are entirely subjective based on recent events/results/announcements and is in no way a true, accurate ranking systems. All comments are purely those of the author.

**These power rankings were made taking in consideration of the results from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers and the roster updates by each team playing in Asia Cup 2022.

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